The bodies and doors/lids of our company's fire-resistant storage containers, also referred to as fire-resistant safes, are constructed by joining internal and external shells together so that they form a mold that can be filled with insulation material. (The insulation material itself is generally a concrete mixture that solidifies in the mold formed by the internal and external shells.) Each double-walled shell is molded with a pair of funnels that are used to help fill the shell with the insulation material. Escutcheons are mounted over the funnels immediately after the shells are filled. These escutcheons are made with stakes having shaped ends that are inserted through the funnels and embedded in the insulation material before the insulation material has hardened in place.
Lock cylinders for the safe and mechanisms related thereto are normally affixed underneath and to one of these escutcheons. In order to accomplish this in the most cost effective and efficient manner, it is desirable to make the operation as simple as possible. In most applications, a separate fastener clip or member is used to retain a lock cylinder in a panel or socket. However, some have sought to simplify this operation even more by producing snap-in locks that do not use separate fasteners and retainers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,405 issued to Manning et al. in 1994 for a “Door Handle Assembly with Snap-in Key Cylinder” provides one example of such an attempt.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,405 (“Manning”), the inward side of a door handle assembly has semi-rigid fingers that extend inwardly. These fingers are shaped so as to snugly embrace and abut the sides of a key cylinder inserted from the rear. Each finger has a rectangular opening that receives a snap-in stud located on the exterior of the key cylinder when the cylinder is inserted into position. A narrowed opening where the key slot is exposed is too small for the key cylinder to slide forward and through. Further motion in this direction is, therefore, blocked. Once the studs have snapped into the previously described openings, the key cylinder also cannot slide back. Thus, Manning presents one means and apparatus by which a manufacturer has sought to simplify and expedite the process of lock installation; however, there remains a need for other methods and apparatus to accomplish this same purpose.